Ferris Bueller's Day Off Showing on 6th Street Sept. 11

Borrow your father’s Ferrari (or a Cap Metro bus route) and join Ferris for his Day Off on 6th Street Sunday, Sept. 11. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Parkside restaurant present a free Rolling Roadshow screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Prior to the show is a street party complete with street food, rum and beer tents in the 500 block of San Jacinto, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. With a $5 suggested donation, the street party and Rolling Roadshow will benefit the 6ixth Street Austin Association, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the Historic Sixth Street Entertainment District.

Sponsors: Don Q Rum, Dos Equis Cerveza, Yelp, the Austin Chronicle, Alamo Drafthouse and Parkside.

Gates open at 7:30 p.m. and the movie begins at 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11. Bring your own lawn chair for maximum slacking comfort!

Historic Sixth District Clean Up Day Sept. 11

On Sunday, Sept. 11 starting at 9 a.m., join your fellow business and property owners in power washing, painting, sanding, sealing, repairing and cleaning the most historic district in Austin. Just in time for ACL Music Festival, Old Pecan Street Festival and back to school, 6ixth Street Austin is hosting an old fashioned community clean up.

You don’t have to wait until Sept. 11 to get started. Pick a project on your building and get it done! Here some easy stuff that you can do to make a difference:

• Wash your windows.


• Paint your trim & doors.


• Clean your sign/awning.


• Remove flyers, banners.


• Replace light bulbs.


• Paint your facade.

As you may have noticed, E. 6th Street sidewalks are looking cleaner these days thanks to City of Austin crews scrubbing sidewalks with a new Cyclone machine and Downtown Austin Alliance maintenance following up with gum removal. 6ixth Street Austin has been working with both organizations to coordinate efforts. Also, lamppost banners, celebrating the historic district, are up.

Now, downtown residents, business and property owners have a chance to refresh the district. Drop us an e-mail at to let us know what you will be doing to improve your building. Then, join us that night at 6th and San Jacinto for a free screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (see Ferris Bueller story).

6ixth Street Austin Endorses Downtown Plan, Opposes Conditional Use

In a letter to the Austin Mayor and City Council, 6ixth Street Austin endorsed the Downtown Plan, but oppossed conditional use permits. Here is the letter's text:

6ixth Street Austin, an association of property and business owners in the Historic Sixth Street Entertainment District, supports adoption of the Downtown Austin Plan (DAP), but encourages amendments regarding conditional use permits and permanent supportive housing location.

The DAP is a visionary document that includes Historic Sixth Street as a priority. We wish to thank the planners, city staff, and appointed and elected officials for recognizing the importance of our historic district and the vision for it as an 18-hour-a-day, mixed-use destination.

6ixth Street Austin strongly opposes changing cocktail lounges to a conditional use. While we share the goals of diverse uses, requiring conditional use permits for cocktail lounges in CBD zoning is the wrong tool. It is ripe for significant unintended consequences, including inhibiting a property owner’s ability to lease property, which could lead to vacant properties and economic instability. Because we share the goals of diverse and day-round uses, we have taken and are increasing voluntary efforts to coordinate with individual property owners, 6ixth Street Austin, Downtown Austin Alliance and others to market our vision and recruit tenants toward those opportunities. We believe that together we can improve the vitality of our district and make it a source of cultural and economic pride for all Austinites.

The DAP makes important recommendations on housing the chronically homeless. A comprehensive plan for social service delivery and housing to guide decision-making and investment is an absolute must. However, permanent supportive housing and single room occupancy units must be scatted city-wide and should not be added downtown, which already contains a disproportionately large concentration of social services immediately adjacent to our centers of nightlife, entertainment and tourism. That co-location has produced significant public order issues and disinvestment, which could be mitigated with longer-term housing opportunities. Those opportunities should not be near existing social services and entertainment areas, not only for the neighborhood but also for the need of supportive housing residents to overcome the cycles and obstacles to more stable and independent lives.

We hope the Downtown Austin Plan will serve as a road map for downtown’s future. We are encouraged that it prioritizes Historic Sixth Street’s needs including parking solutions, public restrooms in downtown, and robust way-finding system with real-time transit and parking information. With adoption of the DAP, the aforementioned requested amendments and an associated 10-year action plan, we are optimistic that the DAP will indeed build on Historic Sixth Street’s global brand and help us to improve it as a high-quality daytime and nighttime destination.

Community Forum April 19: How the Downtown Austin Plan Affects Sixth Street

You’re invited to a 6ixth Street Austin Community Forum:

How the Downtown Austin Plan affects Sixth Street.

Tuesday, April 19 @ 3:30-5 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz (320 E. 6th Street)

Before the Downtown Austin Plan is adopted by the Austin City Council, this is your chance to hear and discuss the recommendations that directly affect your interest on Sixth Street. Join us for an enlightening conversation with the folks who produced the plan, City Staff experts and your neighbors’ comments and questions.

Panelist include:

Jana McCann & Jim Adams, Architects and Principals, McCann Adams Studio

Primary authors of the Downtown Austin Plan, McCann Adams Studio is an Austin-based urban design firm focusing on designs for new communities, revitalization strategies for existing districts, transit-oriented development planning, and public space design.

Michael Knox, Downtown Officer for City of Austin

Co-project manager for Downtown Austin Plan

Jim Robertson, Urban Design Manger for City of Austin

Co-project manager for Downtown Austin Plan

For more information or to read the full Downtown Austin Plan, click here.

Finding Your Way on E. 6th Street

An updated map of the Historic Sixth Street Entertainment District just became available in time for SXSW 2011 Music Festival. From your friends at 6ixth Street Austin and the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office at the City of Austin.

Historic Sixth District Clean Up March 6

On Sunday March 6 starting at 9 a.m., join your fellow business and property owners in power washing, painting, sanding, sealing, repairing and cleaning the most historic district in Austin. Just in time for SXSW, 6ixth Street Austin is hosting an old fashioned community clean up.

Pick a project on your building and get it done! Here some easy stuff that you can do to make a difference:
• Wash your windows
• Paint your trim & doors
• Clean your sign / awning
• Remove flyers, banners
• Replace light bulbs
• Paint your facade

City of Austin crews will be on hand scrubbing sidewalks and Downtown Austin Alliance maintenance crews will be there too. Lamppost banners, celebrating the historic district, will be up by Sunday in time for the Cleanup, SXSW and the busy spring season.

Now, downtown residents, business and property owners have a chance to refresh the district. Drop an e-mail at info@6thstreetaustin.com to weigh in on what you will be doing to improve your building, even if it is a little after Sunday, March 6.

Sixth Street Is Looking a Little Cleaner

Businesses and property owners power washed, painted, sanded, sealed and repaired the most historic district in Austin on and leading up to Sunday, Sept. 19. The City of Austin came out with their new Cyclone sidewalk cleaning machine to show off how sidewalks will now be cleaned quicker and more frequently. The Downtown Austin Alliance demonstrated its new gum removal steam machine. The north side of the 200 block is already looking cleaner.

Fred Schmidt, owner of Wild About Music, washed his windows and then started down the street cleaning windows as he went. Friends bar was out on Sunday cleaning and making repairs to their doors and windows. Prior to the clean up day, many storefronts had made improvements, including Buffalo Billiards, Austin Visitors Center, Spill, Carl Daywood Realty, The Driskill Hotel, Parkside, Chugin Monkey, Iron Cactus, Roppolo’s Pizza, Alamo Drafthouse, Paradise Café, The Library, 505 Neches, Casino El Camino, Chupacabra Cantina, Lucky Lizard, Hoek’s Pizza, Dandyland Tatoo, Custom Tatoos from the Soul and Sole Fresco.

We have heard from several businesses and properties that have improvements scheduled soon. We want to hear from you too. Contact us and let us know your clean up and improvement plans. We have much more to do and routine maintenance to make and keep our most historic street in town looking sharp. In addition to ongoing efforts, our next big clean up day should come just before SXSW 2011. Thanks for making the first step with us. Fox 7 News and KEYE 42 News covered the clean up day on their newscasts.